Light Ficelles Picardes (Ham & Mushroom Crêpes)

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 300 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tsp sunflower oil (for the crêpe pan)
• 500 g button mushrooms
• 3 shallots (about 30 g each)
• 10 g unsalted butter
• 8 slices of cooked ham (40 g each)
• 200 ml light single cream, 12 % fat (60 ml for the duxelles, 140 ml for topping)
• 80 g grated Emmental
• 10 g fresh parsley
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl and whisk
• Crêpe pan
• Large frying pan
• Ladle
• Baking dish
• Chopping board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Tip the flour and a pinch of salt into the mixing bowl, make a well and crack in the eggs. Whisk while gradually pouring in the milk to avoid lumps, until you have a smooth, runny batter. Leave it to rest for 15 min while you make the duxelles.
2. Clean the mushrooms with damp kitchen paper (without soaking them), trim off the earthy ends of the stalks, then chop them very finely with a knife. Peel and finely chop the shallots. Chop the parsley.
3. Melt the butter in the large frying pan over a medium heat and sweat the shallots for 3 min without letting them colour. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, then cook for 12 to 15 min over a medium-high heat, stirring, until all their liquid has evaporated and they start to turn golden.
4. Add 60 ml of the cream, the parsley, nutmeg and some pepper, then let it reduce for 2 min over a low heat: the duxelles should be thick and hold on the spoon, with no liquid. Set aside off the heat and preheat the oven to 200 °C.
5. Oil the crêpe pan using kitchen paper and heat it over a medium-high heat. Pour in a small ladle of batter, tilting the pan to cover the base, cook for 1 min until the edges come away, flip and cook for 30 s. Make 8 crêpes this way, re-oiling every 2 or 3 crêpes.
6. Lay a crêpe flat, cover it with a slice of ham, spread an eighth of the duxelles (about 2 heaped tbsp) over the bottom third, then roll up tightly. Arrange the 8 ficelles side by side in the gratin dish, seam-side down so they don't unroll.
7. Pour the remaining 140 ml of cream over the ficelles, season with pepper, then scatter the Emmental evenly on top. Bake for 15 to 20 min at 200 °C, until the cheese is nicely golden and the cream is bubbling at the edges of the dish.
8. Leave to rest out of the oven for 3 min, so the cream can firm up slightly. Serve 2 piping-hot ficelles per person, lifting them out carefully with a spatula to keep the golden topping intact.